Owning Mahowny (2003) - Caution: gambling is a bad mistress

A wicked tale of  'need' overtaking 'want' and the appropriate consequences. 

Owning Mahowny is about Dan Mahowny, a congenial bank executive who's loved by everyone he's known to. Girlfriend, bosses, customers - the whole parade. But, he has a dark side to him. A twisted second personality that's only known to him (these aren't spoilers, don't worry). And this side of him is what owns him - it owns the real Mahowny.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Dan Mahowny and is fabulous in this picture. He plays him as a man who is always struggling but doesn't allow himself to show real emotion to anyone outside. Mahowny's life is in perpetual turmoil because of his absolute need for a "fix" and he knows he cannot continue with his addiction but some kind of strange wisdom has made him cultivate a living style that fits all of this very well. He is, in reality however, out of everyone's grasp and that awareness makes him all the more falsely self-effacing. Hoffman brings in a demeanor to his character that is very controlled and balanced on the outside but is perspiring, almost trembling at all times, on the inside. It's a performance with precision because that's who Mahowny actually aspires to be.

There's an incredible silent, brooding quality to this film that, at times, it makes you a bit restless. You would want some kind of energy to show through for it is a story that mostly takes place in casinos. There's glamour all around but the film is so restrained, permanently homed in Dan's mind, that it tells us absolutely nothing about the excess and the nauseating perversion we usually associate with casinos. Instead, it talks about vices that are deeply personal, which aren't of a particular category, and have the features of discipline and careful negotiation. The film has a poker face of its own, if you look at it closely. Even though Google classifies this as a Thriller/Drama, the thrills come to us at their own, apathetic pace.

Another memorable trait of the film is its visual treatment. Shot on 35mm (something that was common among a lot of low-budgeted films back then), there's an endearing modesty to it. It's a film that's made with passion but isn't overtly ambitious because of its subject matter or the story-world. Another film that comes to mind for these qualities is Mike Figgis' Leaving Las Vegas (1995). In that film too, we see a self-imposed limitation to its visual aesthetic, as if the filmmaker is content with making a film and nothing else. Owning Mahowny allows us to get invested in the story by making its setup believable and not alienating its audience by any means. Sometimes, when complex matters are at stake, films tend to become over-smart, forgetting that the real issue in hand isn't the explanation but the intense journey the characters take in the story. Dan Mahowny is a regular person, a man who's one of us, and the technicalities of his craft are never as important as the life-principles he adheres to. There's a feeling about his addiction that we need to be left with when everything's over, instead of a cautionary note. 

Alongside, John Hurt (who previously worked with this director in Love and Death on Long Island) is as reliable as ever. His role as the casino manager is to support Mahowny's addiction and ensure that the casino remains conducive. Every actor, as a matter of fact, does a great job. Like any good screenplay, each role and its significance become more apparent as the story proceeds. Here too, as things heat up for Mahowny, other figures emerge and become suitably important. Can't think of a film that is as original as this!